Off the Screen
by CaptainJeremy
Summary: On-screen, they're lovers, off-screen, they can't stand each other. / Spencer lands her first acting role in a big-budget film, but finds herself butting heads with Toby Cavanaugh—the arrogant star of the movie.
1. Chapter 1

**AU!**

* * *

Chapter 1

"Spence!" Aria Montgomery exclaimed, clapping her hands together. The sleepy brunette slowly opened her eyes, yawning as she forced herself to sit up in bed. " _Spence_ , have you forgotten what day it is today! It's an important day for _you_. Not even me, but I'm so excited for you that I couldn't stand to see you sleep any longer."

The brunette smiled and sighed. She was so happy, too, but still needed her sleep.

"I know, Ar. I'm really excited," she said, yawning again. "I'll bet it doesn't look that way because of how tired I am, but I really, truly am. All that acting school and high school theater plays have led me to this moment."

"With _Toby Cavanaugh_ ," Aria reminded. "I can't believe you got a role in such a big movie when you're an unknown actor. I mean, I know you're super talented, but I honestly thought you'd have to do small movies and work your way up to becoming big enough in the industry before a big movie hired you."

"Yeah, I'm surprised they didn't hire someone who's actually famous," Spencer laughed. "But, the casting director loved me for some reason. He said that he hasn't seen someone with such talent in forever."

"God damn, my best friend is so talented!" Aria exclaimed, and jumped into her bed to hug her. "You better invite me to the early premiere with all the big stars. I'll get myself a celebrity boyfriend."

Spencer rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm supposed to be there in about an hour for a table read of the first scenes we're shooting today," Spencer explained. "So, I better get up and get dressed."

"Get dressed? Won't _hair and make up_ take care of that for you?" Aria said excitedly. "I can't believe you get your own crew doing your hair and make up, picking out your wardrobe and everything! This is so exciting, even for me."

Spencer laughed again.

"I still have to make sure I show up in a condition that doesn't look like trash, or else even their magical hair, make up, and wardrobe skills won't be able to fix me," she joked as she got up and walked into the bathroom of their apartment.

This was the biggest day of her career. Her parents had wanted her to be a lawyer ever since she was young. Everyone in her family went to law school and pursued a career in law, but she never liked the idea of being a lawyer. She went along with it for a very long time, but eventually, found her love for acting when she did a school play in middle school. She still let her parents believe she was all for the law career, but she proceeded to do more and more plays and musicals throughout high school. Eventually, while she was applying to college, she confessed to her parents that she didn't want to go through the family route of becoming a lawyer. They didn't take it so well, and continuously reminded her that so few people made it in the acting industry. She knew it was true, and it was a very risky thing to try and pursue an acting career. For a long time, she believed that she wouldn't be able to make any money because she'd never be able to land a job.

But then, she found this audition. It was a long shot, too. The movie was a pretty big-budget film, and they held auditions for the female lead. The agent and manager she was able to find helped her get an audition for the role, although she still knew it was unlikely she'd actually get the role. Her manager wanted her to try for the part, but reminded her that they were probably going to hire an already established actress to play the female lead. She did her best in the audition, and they ended up really liking her. They said they'd call her when they made a decision, but she wasn't expecting a call. Somehow, she got that call. She landed this role alongside a major actor.

After showering, blow-drying her hair, and changing into new clothes, Spencer picked up her purse and headed towards the door of her apartment.

"Aria!" she called. "I'm leaving now!"

The tiny girl ran from the other room.

" _Now_?" Aria asked. "I was unprepared!"

She continued running until she was in Spencer's arms, and hugged her tightly.

"You're going to do so well today, Spence. I just know it," she said, pecking her best friend's cheek. "I'm expecting you to give me every detail of your first day when you get back."

"Of course," the brunette nodded her head. "Thanks, Ar."

Spencer offered one last wave to Aria before backing out of the apartment. She went down to the parking lot and fired her car up. She couldn't believe she was on her way to an LA production set...

* * *

"God damn it, Chuck!" a man that was about 5'5 in height yelled, shaking his head. He had glasses that screamed 'I'm-a-hipster' when Spencer first saw him. He looked almost furious as he went off to lecture the other man, who Spencer assumed was Chuck. "How many times do I have to tell you that the tree prop needs to line up with the bookshelf? _God damn_."

Spencer pressed her lips together. The whole thing seemed to scary and new. She had never filmed a movie before, obviously. She was still stunned that she landed this role!

The man finally stopped yelling at this Chuck figure, and turned around. A giant smile emerged on his face when he noticed Spencer had arrived. Without saying one word, he went right in and hugged her.

" _Oh_ , you must be Spencer Hastings!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "I'm David Murray, the director."

She smiled back immediately.

"Wow!" she exclaimed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, too, my darling," he smiled radiantly. "The table read is going to begin inside in about five minutes. We have snacks and refreshments, so make yourself feel at home!"

Oh, she could get used to this life...

She went inside the building. The rest of the cast was enjoying the drinks and snacks laid out on the table, and talking amongst themselves. There were thick script packets laid out all over the table read table. She pulled out her own script from her bag, and looked for her place card on the table. She set her script down, and went over to the table with the food. Honestly, she was a bit nervous. The actors here weren't amateurs like her, and she was afraid they weren't going to like working with her. Then, the whole job would be ruined because the people she worked with hated her!

She just really wanted to get along with the rest of the cast. She wanted to be one of those close casts that still hung out after the movie shooting was over. But, that was lightyears ahead of them.

It sucked because nobody said a word to her when she went to get food. They all continued their conversations, not even giving one look at the new, unknown girl who appeared on set. She assumed they knew that the person playing the female lead was this unknown actress, but they didn't seem to pay any attention to her, or show any hint of interest in trying to find out who she was.

"Alright, we're going to begin the table read now! Everyone find your seats."

All the seats were filled after everyone sat down.. except one. And that seat happened to belong to Toby Cavanaugh. After most people picked up their scripts and flipped to the first page, the door opened. There he stood, with jelled-back hair, black sunglasses, dressed in a leather jacket and dark blue jeans that were pretty tight for a guy.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized as he took a seat.

"No worries," the producer said, smiling at him.

Spencer swallowed hard. She couldn't believe she was seeing him in person. He was extremely handsome, she couldn't deny that. It shocked her that she had the role that got to kiss him and be his love interest. It made her even more afraid. What if she failed at playing the female lead, and he laughed at her amateur abilities?

* * *

" _Rebecca_ , you're leaving?"

"I have to go to work," Spencer snapped, and walked out of the camera's view.

"Cut, that's a wrap for today's scenes!" David Murray exclaimed, clapping his hands together happily. "Excellent job, Spencer. Excellent job to you, too, Bryan."

The young man with dark skin was named Bryan Adams, and he was in that scene with Spencer. She liked him already. Before they started filming their scenes, he cracked a couple of jokes. He seemed like a really down to earth guy, and was obviously one of the people that actually acknowledged her. She hadn't had a scene with Toby yet, but he hadn't said a single word to her, even though she knew that he was well-aware of the fact that she was playing his love interest in the movie.

"Nice job, Hastings," Bryan said with a grin on his face as they left the set together. "So, have you filmed anything before? You seem like a pro at what you do."

She blushed bashfully. He complimented her acting! She was afraid that everyone would think she was bad!

"No, no. I'm new to this, completely," she informed him. "It's my first.. anything. But I did a lot of theater and acting stuff before, just never in something like this."

"Well, you rock at it," he complimented again. "I see why they casted you."

Her smile grew wider.

"Thank you," she blushed. "You were amazing."

"Yeah? Not as good as you," he chuckled. "So, have you met your guy? Tobes?"

She shook her head.

"We haven't spoken," she replied.

"Seriously? You know, he's going to be your romantic interest," Bryan laughed. "You're going to have to do all the mushy, weird scenes with him. I'm guessing you've never acted in a love scene, have you?"

The _love scene_. Oh crap. She had been so worried about the fact that she'd even have to do the big kissing scene with him where their characters got together. How was she supposed to do a love scene where they'd be half-naked and making out in a bed?

"No," she responded honestly. "I wasn't thinking about that before. But now I am."

Bryan laughed and shook his head.

"Honestly, it's not that bad, trust me. You think it's going to be all romantic and stuff, but you really don't feel anything when there's a thousand guys with cameras around you, filming your every move and quietly telling you to change your expression through the microphone," Bryan explained. "The first one can be a bit intimidating, but as you do more roles, it'll get easier. It's quite a thrill to have your first one be with Toby, isn't it?"

"I don't know what to expect of him.. I mean, he doesn't seem like a bad guy or anything, but I feel like we'll be unfamiliar when we start shooting scenes together," Spencer confessed.

He nodded his head.

"I get what you mean. There's nothing more awkward than making out with a stranger. That's why I thought you should talk to him at least a few times before you start doing your scenes together," Bryan said. "Here, I'll help you out. I know him well enough. We did this other project together way back, and hung out a few times."

Honestly, she was so relieved that she had Bryan helping her. He was probably the only reason she would be able to make it through this scary thing. It seemed like Toby didn't give a crap about her. But, why would he? He was a big-shot actor with lots of experience, and she was the amateur girl who had never done anything before this!

Bryan led her over to the refreshment table, where Toby was drinking a can of coke by himself. He smiled when he saw Bryan come around.

"Hey, my man!" Toby exclaimed, and did some kind of handshake that Spencer didn't understand with Bryan. "Nice stuff today!"

"Yeah, thanks," Bryan grinned. "This is Spencer. You know she's playing Rebecca, right?"

Toby made an extremely awkward face and set his soda down.

"Uh-huh," he said, nodding his head. He didn't look too pleased to see her. "It's cool to meet you."

"You, too," she smiled, although she was getting a pretty bad vibe from him. "Well, I'm going to, uh, I'm going to head home."

He nodded his head, picked his soda up, and took another sip. As soon as she was gone, Bryan gave him a judgmental look.

"What?" Toby asked.

"Seriously, man..." Bryan muttered, shaking his head. "The girl has already had a hard enough day coming to a new set and having to meet completely new people. I remember what _my_ first guest appearance on a TV show was like, and it was hard. I didn't know what to do to make myself fit in with the cast. So, what's your problem, Tobes?"

"My problem? Nothing. No problem at all," he shrugged. "It's just, maybe she shouldn't come film a big movie without any experience. That's just my opinion. It's meaningless, though."

Bryan rolled his eyes.

"She got the part for a reason. She's a good actress," Bryan informed him. "What do you have against her?"

"I told you: nothing!" Toby cried, slamming his soda down once again.

" _Tobes_."

"Alright," he sighed. "I'm a little pissed that she got the part. Samantha was supposed to get her role. The casting director even told me he's seriously leaning towards giving her the part, and then this random, unknown girl shows up for an audition and lands the role? I mean, _seriously_? I needed to work with Sam again so I could fix things."

Bryan rolled his eyes.

"You're going to be mean to the new girl because you selfishly wanted another girl to get to the part so you can fix your relationship? If you could even call what you had with Sam a relationship..." Bryan scoffed.

Toby sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Whatever, man," he said. "I had to work my ass off to get my first ever role, and she lands a big shot one on the first try? It seems a little unfair, don't you think?"

"Nah, she got an audition, the casting director saw that she's talented, and gave her the role," Bryan explained. "Nothing shocking about it. Please, don't make her life hell because you wish someone else got the part. You two are going to be working together.. _a lot_. Be decent to her for the next 8 weeks or so, and then you'll never have to talk to her again."

* * *

"Hey, Spence!" Aria exclaimed when she heard the door open. She shut her laptop and looked over to the brunette, but Spencer didn't seem as excited as she had anticipated. "Oh.. are you alright? How was the first day of shooting?"

"Good, aside from the fact that the leading role is an ass," Spencer groaned, sighing as she took a seat next to Aria. "I don't really know him, obviously, but something about him.. he just thinks he's so much better than everyone!"

"Are you talking about Toby?" Aria asked. "He sucks?"

Spencer shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know how to put it. He just wasn't very.. welcoming," she explained. "Bryan Adams, though.. man, he's so sweet! He was the one that helped me introduce myself to Toby, but Toby ended up being so awkward and bitchy."

"Maybe he likes you," Aria wiggled her eyebrows.

"Bryan or Toby? Never mind that, though. Neither one of them likes me!" Spencer objected.

Aria shrugged her shoulders and pointed out, "You never know."

"I just met both of them today," Spencer reminded. "Filming was fun. I feel like I did a good job. But it's not what I was expecting, you know? I thought we'd all get along and be such a great cast, but literally, Bryan was the only one who really acknowledged me. The director was nice, too."

"Aw, Spence," Aria sympathized, putting her arm around the brunette and tilting her head to the side. "I'm sorry it wasn't how you wanted it to go, but remember, it was only the first day. Maybe things will get better here on out."

"I'm _really_ hoping things get better..."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Spencer was honestly extremely reluctant to go back to work the next day. She loved playing the role. She loved acting. But what she didn't like was that her own co-star already seemed to hate her. She didn't like it when other people hated her— she had this need for people to like her. And it especially sucked that the person she was supposed to be working with for quite a long time most likely didn't like her at all.

"Honey, it's going to be fine. You're going to start getting to know the cast better, and things won't be as hard as you ease into it," Aria coaxed, hugging her while she was on her way out. "Obviously, I have no experience in the movie industry whatsoever, but I have a feeling it's going to get better. And even if it doesn't, this is about making the best movie possible, not becoming best friends with your cast. So, just go on in there with the intention of making the best damn movie possible!"

Spencer smiled.

"You're right. This isn't about friendship, this is about my career," Spencer nodded her head. "I don't need to make new friends! I have great friends, like you. This is all about furthering my career."

"Yes, yes it is!" Aria exclaimed. "Go kill 'em, Spence! Not literally!"

The brunette chuckled as she left the apartment and drove back up to the set. They hadn't started the table read for the scenes they were filming for the day, so she hung out alone at the snack and refreshment table again. However, things weren't so lonely when Bryan arrived. He smiled at her and came up to the table to talk to her.

"Hey, Spencer," he greeted.

"Hey," she greeted back, biting into a cookie.

"Look, I'm sorry about how Toby acted yesterday. He can be a bit of a jerk sometimes, and a little uncomfortable with people he doesn't know. Actually, he's pretty smooth, but I don't think he's looking to make friends with you, if you want the honest truth from me," Bryan explained.

"No, I got the message perfectly that he doesn't want to be friends," she nodded her head. "But, it's okay with me. I know it's all about being professional and making sure I do the best job I can in the movie."

"You've got a good spirit," Bryan smiled. "Are you sure you're not bummed about it? It's okay if you are, you know."

"Of course I'm not happy, but what can I do?" she sighed. "He doesn't want to be friends or at least try and get along with me.. I understand. I'm not at his level. He's got experience and has done this before, and I'm just the new girl who has never done a movie in her life. Did I want to have a lot of fun and get along with the cast? Yes. But that isn't the purpose of my job."

Bryan nodded understandingly.

"He probably wouldn't want me to say anything, but he's been a little bitter because he screwed things up with this girl, and she auditioned for this movie. The casting director was planning on giving her the part until you auditioned. Toby really wanted her to get the part so they could spend time together again, and he could fix things with her," Bryan explained.

Spencer furrowed her eyebrows. _That_ was why he was being so bitter towards her? What a selfish asshole!

"I can't believe he's taking it out on me because I got the part instead of his ex!" Spencer cried, her mouth hanging open. "That is such a douchebag thing to do.. I won this part, fair and square. I even had a disadvantage because I'm not a well-known actress. But I got the role because the casting director loved how I did my audition. It's not like I got it on purpose to halt his love life."

"I know, I know. He's just.. Toby," Bryan shrugged. "Forget about him."

Just then, Toby happened to walk into the table read room. He had a stupid smirk on his face. His smug expression dropped a little bit when he saw Spencer standing at the table, but he came over to talk to Bryan anyways.

"Hey.. guys," he greeted unenthusiastically, but only when his eyes landed on Spencer.

"Wow, you're actually on time today?" Bryan joked.

Toby chuckled.

"Yeah, it's shocking, I know," he grinned.

Spencer awkwardly dismissed herself without words, and went to sit at her place for the table read.

"You know, you don't have to be such a dick towards her," Bryan reminded. "The girl is good at what she does. And how is it her fault that the casting director liked her acting? She honestly wasn't even expecting to get the part. We were all in her spot at one point, auditioning for every role we could get. She went for something, and she got it. Do you really blame her? How was she supposed to know that you were just _dying_ to fix things with an ex who almost got the part?"

"I wanted Sammy to get the party, okay?" he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm never gonna be able to spend time with her again and fix how I screwed it up. She doesn't want to see me again, so I can never spend time with her again. _Unless_ she had gotten the movie role, and we would have to see each other every day. It would have been inevitable confrontation!"

"Too bad," Bryan rolled his eyes. "Suck it up and treat Hastings with the respect she deserves. She did nothing wrong, man. Stop making her feel like she did."

* * *

Spencer was relieved that she didn't have any scenes with Toby's character today. The last thing she wanted to do was have to professionally act with him when she was furious that he treated her icily just because he was mad that his stupid ex-girlfriend, or whatever she was, didn't get the part.

Unfortunately for her, that didn't stop Toby from coming up to her after they finished filming for the day to talk. She really didn't have anything nice to say with him, so she was absolutely sure she was going to explode on him no matter what he said. He should have given her a day to cool off before confronting.

"Hey," he greeted, swallowing hard. He scratched his head nervously. He didn't like doing this; he was never the guy to swallow his pride and apologize. He usually let the other person take that position. But he knew that Bryan was right, and he had to do this.

"What?" she bitterly asked.

"I wanted to talk to you about how I acted. We literally just met, and I haven't been welcoming at all, I know that. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry," he explained. "I'm sorry, and I promise I won't be like that anymore. I'm not really such a bad guy, I was just.. a little pissed the other day."

"Oh, right. Pissed," she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I heard all about how you're pissed about your ex-girlfriend not getting the part that I got, so you've been taking it out on me! That's professional?"

He pressed his lips together.

"Who told you?" he asked. "Bryan?"

"Maybe. But, so what if he did? It doesn't matter that he told me. What matters is that you actually _did_ take it out on me because she didn't get the part," Spencer folded her arms.

Toby furrowed his eyebrows. He couldn't believe this girl! Here he was, trying to apologize nicely for his actions, and she decided to pester him about it. He felt as if he didn't even have to apologize to her, and only did it for her sake. Yet, she still didn't accept it. It was more work than he was willing to put up with. His feelings of regretting being rude to her vanished.

"You know what? I came here to say sorry because I wanted us to get through this movie professionally. I didn't even have to say it, but you're too much of an industry baby to know how to continue working professionally just because your co-star doesn't like you," he rolled his eyes. "Truth is, I _am_ pissed that someone with no experience like you got the part over someone with tons of experience. She deserved the part, and that's a fact. So yeah, I am mad. And I meant the way I acted. I'm not sorry for it."

"Your apology was stupid, first of all, so this changes nothing," she said, rolling her eyes right back. "And you have no right to trash my acting. I know I'm good at what I do, and I know I'm passionate about it. Maybe that's why I got the part. I also highly doubt you really believe in this girl that you hoped got the part. You were just hoping for an excuse to repair your screwed up relationship with her. It's no surprise that you two ended. No girl would want to be with an ass like you."

Spencer was honestly so shocked with herself for going off at him like that. She never thought she would do it, especially not to a big-name actor like Toby Cavanaugh. She was just hoping to get by with him liking her, but now she was apparently feuding with him. And she never meant to get off on the wrong foot with him like this, it was just that he had such a giant ego. He needed to swallow his pride before Spencer could ever respect him.

"Whatever," he brushed off. "It doesn't matter how much you hate me, 'cause we're working together. Unless you wanna quit because you can't handle it," he scoffed.

"You wish, so they could call your ex back, right?" she spat. "But it's not going to happen. I'm getting through this movie because that's what's good for my career. I'll tolerate working with an incompetent jackass like you, if that means furthering my career."

"What career?" he bitterly joked. "I didn't know you even had one."

* * *

" _Aria_!" Spencer fumed as she walked into the room. "Aria Montgomery, I freaking hate Toby Cavanaugh."

Aria set her laptop down on the bed and turned to face her friend.

"Oh no... I thought this was supposed to be a better day for you than yesterday, hon," she sighed, motioning for her best friend to come sit down on the bed with her. "Tell me what happened today."

"He's an idiot, that's what. I never thought actors actually had this big of an ego. He thinks he's so great," Spencer angrily ranted. "This other guy told me that Toby only hates me because his ex didn't get the part. He wanted to fix things with his ex, so he was pissed that she didn't get it. And he came to me to make this insincere, horrible apology. I called him out for the ex thing, and he got pissy right back at me. He said some crappy things, Ar, and it makes me want to quit this stupid job. And it makes me just want to quit acting!"

"Hey, no!" Aria shook her head. "You can't quit acting, Spence. You love it."

"I don't love the people I work with," Spencer sighed.

"This is just one movie, one cast," Aria reminded. "This is an amazing opportunity, and if you get through it, you're going to find so many better jobs. You're going to become a big actress, and all your dreams will come true. And guess what? This Toby thing is going to become an insignificant tiny memory in your huge list. You're going to have so many other experiences that you'll forget all about it."

"Yeah, I'll forget that my first ever real movie was with a jackass..." she sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Not to mention, I was a _huge_ fan of that jackass until I found out what kind of jackass he really is!"

Aria laughed and hugged her.

"People are not always what they seem to be, that's just the way the world is," Aria said. "Please, I don't want to see you giving up on something you love so much because of one bad guy. You can't let him win and destroy your career. You quitting is exactly what he wants to see. He wants to see you lose this job, so don't let it happen!"


End file.
